The LARKIN CLAN Site

Our reference are to County Galway; but in fact the
concept of Galway as a county is relatively new, when
compared with the history of the Larkins. Just as Ireland
is sub-divided into the four ancient Gaelic Provinces
(Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht), we may also
consider a County as a subdivision of a province, and a
barony as a subdivision of the county. The outlines of
this county were drawn up in the 1580's to assist the
British administration in Ireland at the time. It
continued to evolve over a long period of time, and parts
of it were still changing up the the end of the 19th
century. The area was administered as three separate
counties up to quite recently - the West riding, the East
riding and the County of the Town of Galway. This has
created certain historic anomalies - for example, parts
of County Roscommon were originally in County Galway, so
the Barony of Ballymoe straddles the border between the
two; and the parish of Lusmagh now in County Offaly was
originally in County Galway - making it the only part of
Connacht east of the Shannon. In fact, the Parish of
Lusmagh is still a part of Clonfert Diocese in Galway.
Here's what today's County Galway looks like:

The county has the wild Atlantic ocean on one side
(They say that on a clear
day, one can see Boston); the Shannon river on the other, and
Lough Corrib in the middle. Not to mention Lough Mask to the
north, and Lough Derg at the south-east corner. The Aran islands
guard the entrance to the bay - historically associated with
County Clare, but a part of County Galway since Cromwellian
times. County Galway is practically surrounded by water, and has
the second-largest lake in Ireland (Lough Corrib) in the middle
as well. In fact, the lake and its associated river Corrib split
the county in two; the limsestone east and the granite west. West
of the lake, the land is actually the poorest in all of Ireland. And
that's what Cromwell had in mind when the land of the
remainder of the country was divided up amongst his adverntures, and Connacht
was reserved for those Gaelic chieftains driven out of the rest of Ireland. It
was then that he coined his notorious phrase, saying the mere Irish could go "to
Hell or to Connacht". With a small exception, Connacht remained
unplanted, and within Connacht, Galway remained the least planted
county of all Ireland. The exception referred to was the 5 mile
strip corridor Cromwell planned for the Connacht border, which
surrounded the whole province (including County Clare, which he
said had "not enough water to feed a man, not enough trees
to hang a man, and not enough earth to bury a man"). This
was initially intended to protect the coastal strip from access
by England's enemies, and likewise to protect the shores of the
Shannon river which forms the provincial border. County Galway
lost out both ways, as Galway has a large coastline, and is also
backed by the Shannon river. This latter was a factor in the
movement of the Galway Larkins. Their ancestral homeland around
Meelick is located on the banks of the Shannon river. Sure
enough, we find several Larkin transplantations within County
Galway in the aftermath of the Cromwellian settlement. Several
Larkin landowners were moved westwards towards the Loughrea area;
but over the years have gradually worked their way back eastwards
again. However, there were no transplantations of Larkins from any
other county into the Galway area. Back to the geography - the
Western half of the county is very mountainous, rugged,
windswept and wet; with lots of mountains, rivers, lakes, barren
bog land and rocky terrain. It supports a relatively low
population, except along the coastal strip, where fishing added
something to lifestyles. Today it also benefits from a
substantial tourism boom. The eastern half of the county , by way
of contrast, is relatively green, flat & fertile.

The Coat of Arms of Galway, which reflect the maritime
location of the area, as well as a long history of maritime
trade, are shown below. The County Council have recently updated
the shield for County Galway, and this is shown below in the
centre. On the right are the arms of the historic province
of Connacht.